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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced a six-zone nationwide tour to assess its operational preparedness for the 2027 General Elections, with the South-West Zonal Interactive Meeting held on Monday, 7th September 2026 in Lagos.

Declaring the meeting open at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja, INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, said the engagement marked a shift from the previous practice where zonal preparations were coordinated mainly through headquarters directorates.

According to him, the tour will cover all six geo-political zones ahead of the Presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for Saturday, 16 January 2027, and the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections slated for Saturday, 6 February 2027.

Prof. Amupitan, who was accompanied by National Commissioners and Directors, said the Commission would engage directly with Electoral Officers and administrative staff, whom he described as critical to the conduct of elections at Local Government Areas, Registration Area Centres and polling units.

He noted that lessons from recent off-cycle elections, including the Osun State Governorship Election, would guide preparations for 2027, adding that a nationwide election across 36 states and the FCT requires higher standards of coordination and logistics.

The Chairman identified voter apathy, public trust, and misinformation as key challenges, and stressed the need for professionalism and neutrality by staff in line with Section 26 of the Electoral Act.

On voter registration, Prof. Amupitan disclosed that the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) conducted in three phases between August 2025 and July 2026 recorded 10,772,421 new registrants, pending verification through the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS).

He said the third phase introduced an Online Registration Portal, and that the Printable Permanent Voter’s Card technology deployed in Osun is being considered for wider use under Section 18(1) of the Electoral Act.

He added that the National Register of Voters is approaching 100 million, and reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to ensure eligible voters are not disenfranchised due to PVC collection bottlenecks.

On election technology, the Chairman said the Commission is refining its Result Management Systems, including the eEC8A, to improve the transmission and verification of results from polling units to the national collation centre.

Prof. Amupitan also announced that the Commission is finalising a new welfare package for staff, Commission Members and Resident Electoral Commissioners.

This includes the Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure, CEMBSS, effective 1 January 2026, and a 150 per cent increase in overhead allocations to states effective 1 July 2026.

In his welcome address, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Lagos State, Prof. Ayobami Salami, said hosting the first zonal engagement reflects the need for early preparation, competent personnel and effective coordination.

He noted that the South-West presents a diverse electoral environment that requires attention to logistics, technology and stakeholder engagement.

The Director, Planning and Monitoring, Mrs. Helen Ajayi, said the meeting focused on four objectives: assessing state-level preparedness on logistics, ad-hoc staff recruitment, technology, security, training and voter education; identifying operational challenges; providing updates on voter registration, PVC collection and ICT deployment; and aligning staff with the Commission’s Code of Conduct and operational guidelines.

The session featured presentations and discussions on voter registration, electoral technology, staff conduct, logistics, and situation reports from RECs in the South-West states.

The Lagos meeting is the first leg of INEC’s zonal readiness tour as the Commission intensifies preparations for the 2027 General Elections.